Everything is moving quite quickly with Michael Wolff’s Fire and Fury book, the tell-all, WTFery summary of what went down behind-the-scenes during the first year of Donald Trump’s presidency. As I wrote earlier, the main focus for the past 36 hours has been the Steve Bannon stuff, and how Trump and his family have tried to say that Bannon is out of his mind. Bannon is openly coming after Don Jr, Ivanka and Jared Kushner. And Trump may be coming after Michael Wolff – apparently, there are rumors that the sitting #NotMyPresident will sue Wolff. Sue him for what? Accurately printing what various people said on the record? Wolff has tapes of many of the interviews he conducted too. Even though all of this is giving me so much anxiety and anger, here are some additional stories from Fire & Fury, from Wolff’s essay in The Hollywood Reporter:
In the beginning: Reince Priebus, the new chief of staff, had, shortly after the announcement of his appointment in November, started to think he would not last until the inauguration. Then, making it to the White House, he hoped he could last a respectable year, but he quickly scaled back his goal to six months. Kellyanne Conway, who would put a finger-gun to her head in private about Trump’s public comments, continued to mount an implacable defense on cable television, until she was pulled off the air by others in the White House who, however much the president enjoyed her, found her militancy idiotic.
Trump is confused: He seemed as confused as anyone to find himself in the White House, even attempting to barricade himself into his bedroom with his own lock over the protests of the Secret Service.
No one wanted to admit how stupid Trump is: But there was palpable relief, of an Emperor’s New Clothes sort, when longtime Trump staffer Sam Nunberg — fired by Trump during the campaign but credited with knowing him better than anyone else — came back into the fold and said, widely, “He’s just a f–king fool.”
Patriots: The men and women of the West Wing, for all that the media was ridiculing them, actually felt they had a responsibility to the country. “Trump,” said one senior Republican, “turned selfish careerists into patriots.” Their job was to maintain the pretense of relative sanity, even as each individually came to the conclusion that, in generous terms, it was insane to think you could run a White House without experience, organizational structure or a real purpose.
Like a child: Here was a man singularly focused on his own needs for instant gratification, be that a hamburger, a segment on Fox & Friends or an Oval Office photo opp. “I want a win. I want a win. Where’s my win?” he would regularly declaim. He was, in words used by almost every member of the senior staff on repeated occasions, “like a child.” A chronic naysayer, Trump himself stoked constant discord with his daily after-dinner phone calls to his billionaire friends about the disloyalty and incompetence around him. His billionaire friends then shared this with their billionaire friends, creating the endless leaks which the president so furiously railed against.
Bannon’s prediction about Javanka: By July, Jared and Ivanka, who had, in less than six months, traversed from socialite couple to royal family to the most powerful people in the world, were now engaged in a desperate dance to save themselves, which mostly involved blaming Trump himself. It was all his idea to fire Comey! “The daughter,” Bannon declared, “will bring down the father.”
Trump is not well. Everybody was painfully aware of the increasing pace of his repetitions. It used to be inside of 30 minutes he’d repeat, word-for-word and expression-for-expression, the same three stories — now it was within 10 minutes. Indeed, many of his tweets were the product of his repetitions — he just couldn’t stop saying something.Mueller Time: Insiders believed that the only thing saving Mueller from being fired, and the government of the United States from unfathomable implosion, is Trump’s inability to grasp how much Mueller had on him and his family.
One year later: Hoping for the best, with their personal futures as well as the country’s future depending on it, my indelible impression of talking to them and observing them through much of the first year of his presidency, is that they all — 100 percent — came to believe he was incapable of functioning in his job. At Mar-a-Lago, just before the new year, a heavily made-up Trump failed to recognize a succession of old friends.
*breathes into a paper bag* I mean, we knew most of this. Anyone paying attention to anything political in 2017 knew how bad it was, how terrible these people are, how far we’ve fallen as a nation. Please, Bob Mueller, come and save us.
Photos courtesy of Getty.
Sue for what? He’s the most public of public figures.
Exactly, this is ON RECORD…actual recordings. It’s truly Twilight Zone time if he thinks that.
Funny, tapes are what brought down Nixon, too.
We know that Bannon is out of his mind. But nothing gives me more pleasure than hearing Bannon is openly coming after Don Jr, Ivanka and Jared Kushner. Well, nothing except seeing the Orange Anus being led out in handcuffs….or a straight jacket.
I vote Straight Jacket. I am no longer reassured that there are any adults in the WH or Congress who can stop this guy from starting a nuclear war. I don’t care if it’s Pence, Ryan or the devil who take his place. I want to live. Immigrants, the poor, POC’s, Muslims and Jews have all been targeted and suffered under Dictator Trump. It will be the same with Pence and Ryan but I would rather deal with religious zealots and greedy GOP’ers than an insane dictator. Sanity and the ability to read should at the very least be a requirement for presidency!
I know the Super Delegates system in the DNC has flaws. But it can prevent the Trumps of this world. To stop an incompetent and dangerous person from becoming the nominee of a major party and ending our democracy.
Steve Bannon isn’t out of his mind, he believes in some very bad ideas. He’s an extreme isolationist and believes the US should not take in any more people from other countries and expel the ones who are here illegally. This puts him in line with various anti-semitic and racist groups. In addition he believes we do not need to help other countries with various aid either. These ideas are awful and not helpful to our country, but they don’t make him out of his mind, and yes he is an awful person. This book might be the one good thing he has done in a long time even if his comments were by accident.
Now Trump, if this is true with the repetitive stories and the paranoia may have some form of Alzheimer’s or Dementia. This is how my mother started. Unfortunately, I remember it too well. He may be functioning too, as my mother was like this for a while and progressively got worse. Could be one reason why Ivanka came to the White House. When I was with my mother she appeared to be functioning better, but when alone most people thought something was wrong. This is what struck me when I read all of these excerpts.
I want Jared Kushner to go down, but it is difficult rooting for an Anti-Semitic, white supremacist to do the job. My hope is as Bannon is bringing the Kushners down, the Kushners retaliate with the dirt on Bannon. Win-win.
Just FYI Wolff’s publishers moved the release date to tomorrow (Friday) in response to Trump’s cease and desist letter.
Wolff has an excellent reputation, wrote for major publications like Vanity Fair and knows how to vet sources, so yeah, this should be good (in a very bad sort of way). I pre-ordered my copy – I know how I’m spending my weekend…
My mother has dementia, and that’s the first thing I thought of when reading about trump’s behavior. For my mom, at least, the progression of her dementia is far slower than I imagined. In that regard, trump could continue on for years before being 100% certifiable.
Maybe Trump gets a cut of the proceeds because nothing will fuel sales like him trying to stop publication.
Donnie John threatens to sue all the time—he doesn’t follow through. His legal team is not incompetent and they would NEVER open this mess up to discovery or allow Trump and the rest to be deposed under oath.
That’s what I was thinking – it’s his instant response “well I just sue you then.” I know several people who unfortunately did work for his casinos, were not paid properly, and were threatened with expensive lawsuits when they tried to collect their proper payments. It’s how he’s always operated.
says the man who accused Obama of WIRETAPPING. On Twitter. SMH.
Especially when the majority of the claims are not new allegations or observations. And, how would lawsuit number 8,996 prove malice?
Word is that this author was observed entering the WW multiple times. He apparently had direct access.
Apparently Wolff was allowed to sit in the room, literally like a fly on the wall. Orange Anus thought he was going to be recorded for posterity, pearls deropping from that Anus mouth. But as we know, you don’t get pearls from a pig
Wow, this sounds a bit like his first ‘autobiography’, which required the exasperated ghostwriter to follow his subject for 18 months.
I think his first reaction to anyone angering or causing him to save face, is to sue. Hasn’t he literally been involved in thousands of law suits over the years? This time he doesn’t have a leg to stand on. Apparently, 45 knew Wolff was spending a lot of time at the WH but thought he was working on a sycophantic piece about the “greatest Presidency ever”. I’m surprised the shock of this book hasn’t cause him to have a stroke. I hope those tapes are under lock and key somewhere, Mr Wolff.
Or several copies put in safe places.
I think Mueller might have them or want them. Down down down he goes where he stops we already know…prison.
He gave Wolff unlimited access to the West Wing for what, 18 months?
This is what happens when you surround yourself with sycophants and are used to everyone giving you a tongue bath. Now he’s shocked that the book isn’t some kind of glowing report describing what a brilliant leader he is.
Trump has only been in office 12 months so Wolff’s timeline is a bit sketchy. I am worried that the growing number of inconsistencies in Wolff’s reporting will de-legitimize the parts that are true.
Meghan, he was also with Dump’s campaign prior to the saddest day in our national history.
Let him he would be forced to attend a deposition. He should ask Tom Cruise how that went when he sued the tabs. Exactly.
Lawyers will always find a way to sue. The point of suing in cases like this is more saving face with the public (suing implies that you can prove what they said is not true), almost like a required action whenever someone talks bad about you in public. But of course there won’t be any real consequences.
The publisher’s lawyers would have been all over this book before publication. I would love to see all the material Wolff wasn’t allowed to include!!!
No sh*t.
He is running this country like the egomaniacal, narcissistic despot he is.
Surprise!
Obvious article is obvious *sigh*
I’m wondering what is going on the Mueller front. It has been extremely quiet. Does Mueller have anything concrete on 45 and his family of grifters?
It’s quiet because Mueller doesn’t leak. And he wants to make sure all the ‘I’s are dotted and the ‘T’s are crossed. Considering he’s only being SC since the middle May, I think they’re making excellent progress, in comparison to other special investigations.
Exactly this. I wonder if Mueller’s silence is scaring the crap out of trump or if he really is so out of it that he doesn’t know to be nervous.
Quiet is a good thing. It means he’s doing his job, getting his case together, and preparing for the trial to come. It’s a criminal case lacking any historical precedent and having profound implications for our democratic process. It should be taken seriously, not hindered by a media circus.
Ive read it could take years. Personally I dont expect muellernews about Donald Trump sr. until next year at the earliest.
But hopefully there will be news about his accomplices, which will cause a lot of tweeting-craziness.
There’s a lot of talk of money laundering, and with Mueller & Co getting all the bank records, I think that’s highly likely.
I think Mueller has just taken down the first layer so far, and there’s a lot more to come. The Dump family and their associates are up to their eyeballs in illegal and sketchy things, and most of them seem way too stupid to adequately cover it up.
The news is focusing on the gossipy drama, but I zeroed in the parts that hinted at decreased mental capacity. Repeating the same three stories every 10 min or so? Failing to recognize old friends? Seems pretty serious.
I still want to know what’s up with the slurring of words. Mini strokes?
Also, what are the odds of him weaseling out off the Walter Reed Medical exam??? I know *legally* he has to do it, but when has he been bothered with legalities? Also, will he be able to finesse his “Dr. Feelgood” in place of an actual Walter Reed Doctor???
Yeah, if this line is true: “At Mar-a-Lago, just before the new year, a heavily made-up Trump failed to recognize a succession of old friends.” then he’s in the late stages of dementia and that’s really fucking terrifying to be saying about a US president who’s obsessed with nuclear war. No wonder Melania looks like she wants to jump out of the nearest window and run away.
Look what they did with Regan’s Alzheimer’s. He was propped up for most of his second term, with alternating hands up his ass moving his lips to whatever they wanted to push.
I’m wondering if it’s not so much dementia or something, as just pure stress. He’s always been an immature narcissist who was never held accountable or had to actually do anything, and now there is a lot of pressure on him all the time. I’m wondering if he’s just cracking, pure and simple.
If there are people around him who feel that he does have diminished capacities and is unfit, then all this “patriot” talk doesn’t mean sh!t until steps are taken to remove him from office.
It is terrible if he is doing that and those that sat by and said nothing should be drummed out of office. This is unfair to the country and our lives. My only ray of hope is that his diminished capacity may make it easier to undo a lot of his handy work. His judges should go first.
It’s possible the nonrecognition is a vision and/or hearing problem. He tends to tune out people when they are of no particular benefit to him also.
And he might just be distracted by the dawning recognition that he’s in trouble this time. He has been engaging in criminal activities for decades but always bribed or threatened his way out of it. He can’t do that with Mueller. Running for President and worse, winning was the stupidest thing he’s ever done. It brought real attention to his shady dealings.
The story repeats is something that he’s done for a long time, though. He’s not deep. And he’s in so much over his head in the White House, he is probably bored bored bored. There really isn’t anything for him to do except eat, drink Diet Coke, and watch tv. They occasionally shove something at him to sign and take a picture. He’s getting shallower by the minute.
Is the physical exam really a legal requirement? Or is it optional? Publicizing the results has to be optional, I would assume. There are privacy issues. The release of tax returns, for example, is not a legal requirement. It became custom a few decades ago. Much more likely that the same is true for the physical exam. If it were important and mandatory, why not require it before the election for all candidates?
I would bet Trump just refuses the exam, maybe by continually delaying it.
I have ZERO sympathy for him but this sounds like severe dementia. My grandma was like this too, she would ask the same questions every five minutes because she constantly forget the answer. One day she was on the phone with a friend and after she hung up she couldn’t even remember what they just talked about. My great aunt also didn’t recognize us when we visited her one last time. She passed away a year after.
From the way he speaks/tweets I think most people would get the impression that his mental state might not be too well but this has me thinking that it might be even worse than we think and someone (Jared and Ivanka?) is covering it up so they can prop him up for whatever agenda they want to push on people. He’s a giant asshole but so is everyone who keeps enabling him.
Morning Joe for all his faults including helping to elect Empire Baby fists has been saying for the last 6 months that people close to Trump say he probably has legit Dementia. He used those same examples of ‘repeating the same few words’, scattered thoughts, forgetfulness of recent events, etc. Sell-out Corker also has given several interviews on the record that Trump is not mentally fit to remain in office. All we need is to vote in responsible adults into congress who will get him out of office and into a mental care facility.
I mean this man didn’t even get a real physical. You have to pass a basic mini-mental exam in your yearly physical at his age which will tip the doctor into doing a full mental exam if you fail (asking you to remember sequences, what you just said 2 minutes ago etc). This is how Dementia is picked up.
Morning Joe in May 2017, saying that Trump’s behavior, speech and memory reminds him of his mother who is currently suffering from Dementia.
https://youtu.be/jSDj9E2dgWs
I don’t know what to believe, Michael Wolff admits he isn’t a reliable narrator. He had a perspective he wanted to put forward so he did. Is Trump this demented, or does Wolff think saying so would sell more books?
There are a lot of witnesses to Trump’s actions.
Word is Wolf also has tapes.
This is one of the reasons I feel like the physical at Walter Reed will never occur. I know that because of HIPAA the results couldn’t be released, but what happens if the doctor suspects dementia or something? This is the freaking president, I mean he’s awful but he should not be able to continue because of something like that. Is there anything that can be done? Could Trump try to discredit the physician? I know his cult members will say it’s a deep state conspiracy to out him, but if a president is found to have something like Alzheimer’s or dementia can anything be done legally? I do know that Reagan had it in his second term and it was covered up, so I guess not.
Are any of you knowledgeable on this?
If he cancels the physical, that will send up alarms. If the doctor doesn’t release a summary, that too will send up alarms. Although the summary could be sanitized.
@Moonbeam
+1
No one will do a darn thing if he doesn’t go or doesn’t release the results. The Alarm will go to congress and fall on the deaf ears of the Republican majority. The writers of the constitution never envisioned a Trump with absolute powers.
The *only* legal way to bring him down is to vote out the complicit and corrupt GOP from congress. Even Muller’s Investigation results will mean nothing if the GOP majority in the house and senate stays the same after the 2018 elections.
Isn’t that what the 25th Amendment is for?
Brandy X. Lee, a Harvard-affiliated psychiatrist, is reported to have just given two days–TWO DAYS–of testimony about Dump’s mental state to a congressional committee. She was deeply involved in the recent conference of mental health professionals at Yale about Dump’s psychopathology and pattern of behavior. Check my facts because I skimmed two articles on it very quickly….
The 25th Amendment strategy is political and requires signoff from the VP, who is fairly reptilian himself and may not care that there is an insane person in the White House and is above all about his own self-interest (duh).
The difference from Reagan is that he never (that we know about) made specific threats of action against another nuclear power.
Dump is a lunatic menace, but the upper-tier career military leadership is very much aware of their collective responsibility to defend our interests. They have already gone public with a statement/assurance that they will not obey an unlawful order to deploy nuclear weapons.
This is unique in US history. These people never, ever make such public declarations unless they believe expressing such an opinion is necessary to defend us–and indirectly reassure us that they understand the level of lunacy and incompetence they are dealing with.
Remember, too, that openly criticizing the Commander in Chief is a very serious offense for a service member. They do NOT have the freedom of speech that they risk their lives to defend for the rest of us. They can be prosecuted very harshly under the UCMJ–the Uniform Code of Military Justice–which is a separate body of law that pertains only to people serving in the US military.
The public statement that Pentagon brass will ignore unlawful orders to attack another nation with nuclear weapons is a very big deal on many levels.
drump’s default is to threaten a lawsuit.
The fact that we have a rotting corpse of a president with his dimwit supporting cast of characters in the WH is now fully documented.
Wolf sure as hell better have tapes to back this shit up or it will all dissolve with 45 declaring that is fake news that he can’t prove and people will forget about it. If he has audio evidence, he should start releasing it.
“Lordy, I hope there are tapes.”
In all seriousness, how would he pass the legalities to publish without proof? Isn’t that out and out libel/slander?
Wolff, apparently, has “dozens of hours” of tape with current and former Trump officials – including Bannon.
http://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-steve-bannon-michael-wolff-fire-and-fury-audio-recording-770431
Right, just like the “grab em by the P****” tapes, that, all of a sudden, were also fake. After he apologized for them…
He is like freaking Teflon, nothing seems to stick.
To put it all on the line: I now believe that you all did not know or a lot did not care that half of the country were voting for an authoritarian idiot (who is not even a republican?!! ) and I put it mostly down to propaganda, money and some variation of sturdy tribal ignorance.
Please, all is us, let’s not let ‘dangerously stupid’ be our epithet!
Honestly after the alarming vote results from 2016, you just can’t blindly trust other Americans to not be selfish, you have to take 2 people who will vote for the greater good (friends, neighbors, elderly with no transportation) to the polls with you. Call in sick if you have to.
So much winning. Sad.
I read *breathes into a paper bag*, as *heaves into a paper bag*, which frankly is what I feel like doing!
Even if not for his repulsively narcissistic tendencies, it’s abundantly clear from many of these descriptions that he’s not mentally capable of handling the job. There are definite signs of some sort of neurological deterioration going on.
That poor little boy. He always looks utterly miserable.
That’s what I came here to say! Barron’s FACE in that first photo… he knows something is up with his dad and it isn’t good…
Having a narcissistic parent is incredibly difficult for a child, and then as an adult. Combine that with his seemingly cowed mother, and he doesn’t have even a slim chance at being well-adjusted.
@Luna
I’m hoping his maternal grandparents and nanny can offer him a somewhat normal childhood. Heaven knows, his parents and siblings are all so self-absorbed or sleazy, no one gives Barron a thought.
His half-siblings don’t seem to give a damn about him either. Junior almost knocked the kid down the stairs at the inauguration and has used him to score points in his twitter battles.
I agree Luna. Look what it did to the adult children.
I really do feel for the kid, and I too hope he has some good people in his life. Hopefully when all this is over with, he can find some kind of path for himself.
Yeah, poor kiddo. What a situation to be born into. The only consolation is that Trump allegedly has no use for his kids until they become adults, so maybe they’re just not thrown together much. Hopefully he has some good role models around.
I hope he grows up and writes a tell all or something. Daddy will probably be dead by the time Barron hits his 20s, so he doesn’t have to walk on eggshells to get that money like Jr, Ivanka, Eric and Tiffany.
He’s physically abusive, and I am sure his mind going is making him even angrier and worse. That won’t come out until he is no longer in office.
Breathing into a paper bag is something we’ll all come to do well, sadly.
*breathes into a paper bag*
*screams into a paper bag*
‘kay I know this situation isn’t funny at all Tiff, but your response almost made me choke on a piece of mango I laughed so hard.
😀
Glad you survived!
Ditto. This was a literal laugh out loud comment.
Even if only a fraction of this book turns out to be accurate, it paints a nightmarish picture of the Oval Office occupant.
The truly horrific point that comes across (to me) in what I’ve read of Wolff’s account, is that the Republicans were aware of the treasonous and incompetent occupants in the White House, and they turned a blind eye to it in order to rob the Country. String ’em all up.
my thoughts completely!
Yes. They have clearly put party before country and I hope they pay a big price for it.
Absolutely. And I hope that they pay for years to come…
As McConnell said, he’s a reliable signer of any hideous legislation they send to him. Tax bill basically was a repudiation of every promise he made to white working class during the election. GOP Party is headed by a narcissistic mental case and the rest are soulless servants of the very rich.
And remember “Grab’em by the midterms”
I don’t think I have ever advocated for application of the judicial death penalty. I have come around on it for selling out one’s country.
Didn’t he also say that Ivanka had plans to run for president? I wouldn’t doubt it (well, maybe these hopes are gone now that they all seem to be in deep trouble) but I find it incredible that she actually thought she would even deserve of that “assistant” or whatever title she currently has. She sells clothes and shoes, right? How on earth does that equal an actual political qualification?
I’m not surprised that he is alluding to Trump possibly having severe dementia already (not recognizing friends, repeating himself every five minutes etc.). I have no sympathy for this egomanic idiot and those people who are enabling him to further their own shitty agendas. I am not even American but I’m anxiously waiting for all of them to go down, like I want the alt-rights in my country to get the fuck out of our parliament already (one of them – an elected member of the parliament and a fucking JUDGE on top of that! – just called Noah, son of tennis legend Boris Becker a “little half n*gger” on Twitter, just because Noah publicliy spoke about experiencing racist attacks because he is part black. The n-word is frowned upon here as well, but apparently it’s perfectly fine for members of the parliament to say it now…)
Yup. Apparently it was Ivanka’s dream to be the first female Pres, because she is oh so qualified……………oh wait -no, she isn’t!!!
Yup of all the excerpts about this book this one was really a knee slapper. Both her and Dickless Ken were trying to decide who would run first. She thinks her butt ugly clothes and shoes will make her the best female president ever!
Trump’s election has given permission for the racists to reveal themselves. What horrible words.
Regarding Ivanka becoming the first female president in the US — I used to think the idea of Donald Trump becoming POTUS ludicrous and magical thinking.
I remember days after November 8, 2016, walking through a parking lot in which a white semi delivery truck driver had wedged his truck in behind a delivery truck that I knew was usually driven by a black guy (not that my sons and I had ever watched him unload the truck or anything. Kids and trucks!). The white guy started to talk to me, a white lady, about the black driver and I have never in my life actually heard a white person come that close to using the n word. I was appalled and I think had I encouraged him he would have gone all the way there.
And that was when I realized that Trump had uncorked a disgusting brew. Not being black I don’t know if it would be preferable to have it out in the open like that, but it was just gross.
Judging from Princess Nagini’s recent tweets, she seems more determined than ever, like it is her birthright.
She believes her own hype. She blahs and spews and grins and soft talks but there is never substance behind it. It is all artifice and she even talks in cliches or “quotable sayings”.
Aside from the great gossip in the book, the worst takeaway is that a con man decided to hijack the American elections for financial gain. Never mind the country. Never mind the deluded people who were supposed to throw away their vote so that he could get richer. It was all a reality show and get-rich-quick scheme to Donald Trump. An entire election wasted and four to eight years of Americans’ lives! People living in poverty, inadequate health-care, the environment going to hell — it’s of no concern to him.
And remember, Trump said that if Hillary won, he wouldn’t concede the election because he thought something crooked was going on! So he would waste American’s time, and pit people against each other, no matter what!
Sandyc, it broke my soul to read how much he didn’t want it and didn’t plan on winning. The election of a President is such an important thing, and all the members of his team played recklessly with it for their own gain. It’s like they were playing a game of keep-away with an urn of ashes and they crashed to the ground. Those ashes, this country and it’s institutions, actually mean something to so many people. They’re all heartless grifters.
So true, so heartbreaking, well said. People devote their careers, their lives, in various capacities, to service to better the country. The fact that a person/family with so little regard or respect for our institutions and norms is so utterly soul crushing. I feel like there literally could not be anyone worse.
“I feel like there literally could not be anyone worse.”
Yes.
Especially when his opponent really DID want it. Regardless of what anyone may think of Hillary Clinton, it’s pretty clear that she understood the job, and despite knowing how difficult it could be, still wanted it more than anything, and had worked for so long to get it. I honestly don’t know how she isn’t stabbing pillows and screaming every day for the last year.
@Esmom, I think of those people every time one of those ignoramuses uses the term “deep state.” People study and train for years, many federal jobs like the State Department require passing an entrance exam, work for years, even decades with integrity and loyalty to country, regardless who the Executive is, and these scum are treating them like dirt.
Good points, lightpurple. It is so troubling to see this trend of education, and now experience, being considered a bad trait.
Yes, lucy2, she was so qualified! She could speak on many important matters at length. Sigh…what could have been.
In a quest to add adventure to my life a few years ago, I briefly looked into a career at the State Department. I scored in the 95th percentile on my SAT, but a quick look at a sample Foreign Service Exam blew my mind and deflated by ego. Tens of thousands of people take the exam each year and 75% of them fail. And that’s just the first hurdle. Even those that get hired are usually assigned to language school or other advanced courses before taking on their real job. What Tillerson is doing at State is reprehensible. His malfeasance will damage US foreign relations for decades to come.
Yeah, I honestly suspected from the beginning he was doing it all for the PR and ego boost, and has since got caught up in believing he would be the most awesomest president ever. It gives me zero pleasure to be right.
“It gives me zero pleasure to be right.”
Ain’t that the truth? I’ve never wanted to be wrong so much in all of my life.
@GreenTurtle, I never doubted that was the case. What a nightmare we are living.
I am more convinced than ever that Russia changed votes. I think Donald knew full well they were doing it, but it was just supposed to take his slaughter at the polls to close enough to contest. But Putin had other ideas…
He reminds of my father, only in evil form. My father’s his age and while he can still carry on a conversation, the slippage is clear. On September 11, 2017, he asked my mom why all the flags were at half-mast. She said, “Because it’s September 11.” He said, “What happened?” He told me I didn’t have a six in my birthday – there are two sixes in my birthday. Just weird stuff like that. Not quite dementia, he’s in the present moment and recognizes people, but a definite difference from the daddy I grew up with. That being said, I recognize the same in Trump and if were anyone else, I’d sympathize. But he was a bad person long before being an elderly person, and this just truly peels away any chance of hiding what he is: a spoiled brat with the mentality of a toddler, a racist, sexist sex offender creep who shouldn’t even be allowed to tour the White House let alone live there.
There is something I have observed in elderly relatives that I call the “record skipping” (a vinyl record reference). You’re having a lucid conversation, and suddenly the senior’s memory of sense of rational thought “skips” for a moment.
Isn’t there an estimate that 50 percent of people age 85 and older have noticeable levels of dementia? Then there is the personality impact as one ages. Age seems to magnify personality traits, not turn everyone into a wise, sweet person.
I would be surprised that 50% of people 85 and older have dementia. Decline in cognitive function or speed, yes.
Record skipping is a perfect description as far as I am concerned, and i often think of it like that too. the reference is a sign of our time, since my kids call it a glitch in their (the elderly) matrix.
I’m not American and for all the chaos and destruction American foreign policy interference such as manipulating puppet dictators and wars has caused in other countries, i can only feel sorrow and horror now that Americans are facing a dictator of their own making. no one deserves to live without healthcare or education or be in constant fear for their lives in case of war. it gives me no pleasure to see a single other person live through that. no one deserves to be treated as less than human because of their race colour or creed, and it still breaks my heart that what America used to stand for, an emblem of equality for all and freedom for all, is now exposed as a huge facade for the greedy, evil white brotherhood.
it gives me no pleasure that while billions and trillions were made on the blood of innocents, the same soldiers who fought and bled in wars they had no part in causing, came back damaged and abandoned and nothing of substance was done to address the cost of their sacrifice to their families or themselves beyond platitudes. the real villains are the ones currently in power, serving those with money be they red or blue, and the people of America really need to vote differently in order for real change to be made. it is going to take several cycles, but hopefully country and decency before party will steer you right.
make it happen USA, for better or worse, America is still the wind for which the rest of the world adjust our sails.
That is a form of dementia. I hope your family has discussed this with his doctor. There are medications and memory exercises that can help him.
“even attempting to barricade himself into his bedroom with his own lock over the protests of the Secret Service.”
So, Melania sleeps elsewhere.
Yes, that was revealed as well, they have separate bedrooms. And according to the book, Melania cried when her husband was elected, and they definitely weren’t tears of joy!
I will never forget the look on trump’s face the day after the election as he sat in the WH with President Obama. trump look terrified and confused. I called it then that he didn’t think he would win and he didn’t want to win.
Also, according to Wolff, Melania and Trump had a fight on Inauguration Day which is why she looked so miserable in a lot of the pictures.
A guy who brags about having a bigger nuclear button than some other nation should tell you everything you need to know about Trump.
Oh great. Jeff Sessions is going to resind Obama’s pot regulations this week about not messing with states where it is legal. Congress, time to do something!!!
http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/04/politics/jeff-sessions-cole-memo/index.html
If congress hasn’t done anything by now about anything else they sure aren’t gonna start with pot.
What kills me is how much money they make, their retirement pensions and their Cadillac healthcare. Yet they do nothing about any of this. They are supposed to work for the people.
You are probably right, but I would hope maybe a few of them might be persuaded by the tax revenue that legalization has given to their states. If they can’t stand up for what is right, maybe they’ll stand up for the $$$$?
I feel awful b/c my mom has qualified for medicinal marijuana for the past 2 years but bureaucracy delayed it in MD. They finally started to open dispensaries a few weeks ago and now this bad news. F*ck Sessions for not understanding the benefits and just seeing an opportunity to profit off of prisons and at the expense of POC. My mom has had pain for a number of years in her back and she hates pain killers and can’t even take Advil b/c shes allergic. We are 4 days into 2018 its already feels 10 times worse than 2017.
I’m so sorry to hear about that, Angela! It is so evil that they deny people options for dealing with their pain and health without any kind of sound reasoning behind it.
How am I supposed to survive another 3 years without my weed. 🙁 My poor liver.
Ugh, he has been so focused on pushing his draconian position on criminalizing drugs as much as possible. WHYYY do these puritanical douchebags care so much about controlling other people’s private lives? Hey, here’s a radical idea! Don’t like weed? Don’t smoke it. Don’t like abortion? Don’t get one. Don’t like gay marriage? Don’t marry someone of the same sex. As long as it doesn’t harm anyone else, don’t worry about it. Look, I despise the taste of anise, but you don’t see me championing legislation to enforce 5 year mandatory minimums for intent to distribute black licorice.
Sorry, Tiffany. This got me on a bit of a rant.
No apologies needed, I feel ya! It makes no logical sense to regulate private behavior in these ways. For the party of “small government”, they sure do like to legislate morality.
Good rant 🙂 But I really just posted to tell you “draconian” is one of my favorite words 🙂
Haha, thanks, happy girl!
I hate caraway seed so much that I appalled my mother by carefully picking it out from rye bread… But still have no compulsion to make selling or using caraway seed illegal. Just label things properly and I’m fine.
I’m also allergic to dairy milk and get nauseated at just the Got Milk? commercials. Can’t stand the smell. Can’t even drink non-dairy milk that is too white because it triggers awful memories. And yet somehow I have no urge to jail people for using dairy milk…
Evil Keebler also picked up the orange ass’ orders and they will be reopening HER EMAILS case again. WTF who is going to put an end to this madness?
Are you kidding?! That is so troubling.
Seriously? The same people who cry “states’ rights!” over slavery, segregation, minimum wages, and voter suppression? The same people who think states should have a right to opt out of gay marriage, abortion, Obamacare, expanding Medicaid, and national standards for education? The same people who literally broke away from the Union and started a Civil War over their “states’ right” to enslave people, and who will continue to fly to confederate flag proudly as a “symbol of states’ rights,” are now trying to crack down on states that have legalized marijuana?
If the opportunists around him had really magically transformed into patriots, the 25th amendment would have been invoked already.
Even if Emperor Zero is removed via the 25th amendment, so many corrupt followers and cultists, perhaps numbering in the 100s (on both sides of the political spectrum), are doomed.
Mueller knows 90% more than anyone else. He has tax records of all the trumps and kushners dating back decades. Prepare yourselves for an interesting and increasingly bumpy 2018.
All this is why they wanted him to run -because he was supposedly easy to beat.
Throwing up is my new normal.
I’ve been reading the excerpt from New York Magazine and it’s pretty entertaining. And scary.
Part of me wants to read it, but the rest of me doesn’t want to feel any worse than I already do. I think I’ll just stick with the more gossips excerpts for now.
It’s pretty gossipy, I think that’s why I’m enjoying it. LOL
Do also read the excerpts on the Hollywood Reporter and British GQ. They’re all different, and all terrifying.
It seems like nothing sticks to Trump – he avoids all responsibility. I can see him getting full on dementia before he’s ever prosecuted. But everyone around him will go down. They will be aware of the destruction, but he will not.
Typically there’s a period early on when the person knows what’s happening. Knowing where your brain is heading can be pretty frightening.
I was saying this to my husband yesterday, I want him to go down while he can remember it. I want him to see his family and everyone around him in jail, also. I don’t want him to die while in office, like a heart attack, stroke, any of the ailments he looks like he could suffer, only because he will then become a martyr for his base. I want him thrown out of office and in jail. Now.
I had a 48 year old friend who avoided responsibility in blowing up at me amongst fellow friends calling me arrogant and the most selfish person she ever met in her life. She emailed me 2 months later apologizing, but instead of saying sorry for her words, she still means them, she was sorry she came that night and that was that. I didn’t respond and will not hang out with her again. Grown adults who cannot accept personal responsibility are extremely unhealthy and it is scary we are dealing with someone who is running a country of 300 million people!!!
Forgive me if this has already been mentioned: Lawrence O’Donnell covered this book and it was terrifying and a little hilarious.
Easy D forbids the staff from stripping the linens from the bed – he must remove them himself. Lawrence speculated on incontinence.
Ivanka mocks her father behind his back, talks about his “scalp reduction”, and the ridiculous way he wraps the orange piece about his head to hide his baldness.
Easy D was horrified that he had won and Melania was in tears. His inner circle had not only planned to lose, they already had their strategies planned to profit off of the loss.
Ivanka has speculated that she will run for president in the future.
That’s on ugly shiny dress Melania is wearing in the last photo. The puffy sleeves, the floral decals. So much wrong with it I don’t know where to start.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BddDYV6H7JR/
She looks like a rejected Xmas tree decoration. Could she even sit in that monstrosity? It looks ridiculously tight.
OMG did anyone see his bonkers Wizard of Oz press conference???
Trump was in the next room yet had to video conference in! He’s so scared of the press he can’t even be in the same room as them. LOL
What? When did this happen?
Someone was feeding him answers. He can’t do live anymore at all without a script.
Which is ironic given how often we had to listen to him word-belch about Obama and TelePrompTers.
So reminiscent of that political ad Michele Bachmann did when she was running for the Republican nomination in 2012 — totally unaware of the camera lens.
An unnamed (!) White House source told a reporter at MSNBC that Trump was apoplectic. If true, it’s understandable why his minions didn’t want him in front of a live mike and reporters.
He hasn’t had a real press conference in many months because he can’t handle any questions or perceived ridicule. Such a big baby!
Is Michael Wolff a respected author? I want this book to really have clout and humiliate the Little Orange Man and his children, the Three Stooges. I’m leaving Tiffany and Barron out.
Melania, with her height and figure, can usually even somewhat carry off her not-so-great picks. But this dress was horrendous and did nothing for her. What was she thinking or her stylist thinking?
After today, I think this Trump presidency is going to end like the last 5 minutes of Django Unchained…nobody’s gettin’ out alive.
I want to know if it is true Melania has allegedly said that women who are married cannot be raped by their husbands. She went after Trump hard, stripping down constantly for him whenever he wanted it. She’s no better now. People wonder why she can’t string together a coherent sentence in English. She’s been too busy with other things on her hands and other body parts. Foul woman who deserves what she’s got: Trump.
Read this about Trumps speech patterns and what appears to be serious cognitive decline.
https://www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/548759/
Holy gods! Wish I could have any faith in the rest of the GOP that they wouldn’t let an incompetent person stay at the helm. But I think they are all floundering. 😱 It’s truly frightening. Bannon is trying to save his own skin and keep Breitbarf relevant. He’s so despicable.
I have to believe that there are many more good caring honest people in the USA who will turn out in droves to vote this evil cabal out of office. I just have to believe that. It’s all we can do.
I know it’s damn near impossible to change the consitution; however, we need a new age restriction on how old a person can be to be president. I say it should be below 68.
Anybody old enough to remember the Phil Collins video depecting Reagan as a puppet pressing the nuclear button? There was a lot of rumours then that he had alzheimers well in office and people were frightened. At least he had people who managed him and kept him under control. This is worse – so much worse.
To have it all summed up like this is so nerve racking. All we have in my house is those big brown paper grocery bags. I hope they work!
Sorry for some mistakes in my earlier post. The forensic psychiatrist who is going public about Dump’s mental state is Bandy Lee, and she is at Yale, not Harvard. Her statement was issued jointly with two other psychiatrists, and a whole group of them is coming under fire for violating the so-called Goldwater Rule discouraging comment on public figures. An interview with her is here:
https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/1/5/16770060/trump-mental-health-psychiatrist-25th-amendment
Note that many psychiatrists have come out publicly about their duty to protect the public from harm and are abandoning the Goldwater Rule. There are a few good articles about that in Alternet and elsewhere.
It would be so amazing if Jared was already wearing a wire for Mueller.